Patten Group Inc. Increases Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Patten Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 20.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,112 shares during the period. Patten Group Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,028,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $296,100,000 after purchasing an additional 123,937 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 113,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. B&I Capital AG purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at $5,447,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 48,969 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,884,000 after purchasing an additional 11,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $69.95 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $71.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.58 billion, a PE ratio of 368.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.46.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. Equities analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,010.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $71.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,098,153. The trade was a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Ventas

Ventas Inc (NYSE: VTR) is a leading S&P 500 real estate investment trust focused on delivering strong, sustainable shareholder returns by enabling exceptional environments that benefit a large and growing aging population. The Company's growth is fueled by its senior housing communities, which provide valuable services to residents and enable them to thrive in supported environments.